For those of you out there that have worked hard to “cut the cord” watching live television like the upcoming Super Bowl between the Patriots and the Giants can be difficult, especially if you don’t own a terrestrial antenna. This year, however, the NFL and NBC are making it easy for you by streaming the big game online and through mobile devices.

Keep in mind, you probably won’t be able to watch the site on streaming sites this year (not that you would). The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security have seized and closed a large number of sites that were planning on streaming the big game.

Verizon Wireless

If you are going to be on-the-go on Super Bowl Sunday and you own a Verizon smartphone, you will be in high demand with the people that surround you. The nation’s largest mobile carrier has teamed up with Comcast and the NFL to stream the content to your mobile device provided that you have a few things added to your account (you’re on Verizon, are you surprised?).

First, you’ll need an iPhone or Android device, and you will need to be subscribed to the V Cast service to have access to the content. You can buy a day pass for $3, which isn’t bad, or go ahead and tack on the extra $10 a month to have it full-time. We’d recommend having a large data plan if you are aren’t in range of a WiFi hotspot since you are going to be receiving a lot of data (you may want to have your charger with you as well). Using this method you will receive the full NBC broadcast, including the half-time show and all the national commercials. Make sure to download the NFL Mobile application since it’s the portal for viewing.

Computers

If you aren’t on Verizon, your option is to watch the game on NBCSports.com on your computer at no cost. Keep in mind that will be a different viewing experience than those watching it in the traditional manner. First, you will have a 30-second delay from the live action, so we would turn off your other live updating media to not spoil anything for you. Also, you won’t get the national commercials, but online versions of ads to replace them. NBC says it will post the commercials online after they have run for people viewing using the internet, so it’s not a total loss.

The upsides to watching online will be that you will have control of which camera angle you want to view from, and even be able to have two views open at the same time. Also, you will be able to pause and rewind the action, which won’t be available to those watching on their Verizon phones or on television.

It’s nice to see the NFL and NBC finally embracing the fact that a large amount of people do indeed watch television content using online services. By creating a both legal and free viewing experience using the interwebs, both companies will be able to recapture lost revenue from sites that pirate the game with low-quality feeds. It’s about time that executives see the value in the “if you can’t beat ’em join ’em” idiom.